Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (with a birthdate of December 28, 1954) is a celebrated American actor, producer, and filmmaker. Known for his dramatic roles on stage and screen, he is often seen as one of the top actors of his generation, with The New York Times declaring him the best actor of the 21st century in the year 2020. Throughout his career, Washington has garnered numerous awards, including two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Tony Award in addition to being nominated for two Emmy Awards and a Grammy Award. He received the 2016 Cecil B. DeMille Award, AFI Life Achievement Award in 2019, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2022). After training at the American Conservatory Theater, Washington began his career in theater, acting in performances off-Broadway. He was first recognized widely in the NBC medical drama series *St. Elsewhere* (1982–1988), and in the war film *A Soldier's Story* (1984). He won two Academy Awards, his first for the Best Supporting Actor category for playing a soldier during the Civil War in the war drama *Glory* (from 1989) and his second for the Best Actor category for playing a corrupt police officer in the crime thriller *Training Day* (2001). He was received Oscar nominations for his performances in *Cry Freedom* (from 1987), *Malcolm X* (released in 1992), *The Hurricane* (in 1999), *Flight* (2012), *Fences* (from 2016), *Roman J. Israel, Esq.* (from 2017), and *The Tragedy of Macbeth* (released in 2021). A renowned leading man, Washington starred in films such as *Mo' Better Blues* (released in 1990), *Mississippi Masala* (in 1991), *Philadelphia* (in 1993), *Courage Under Fire* (1996), *Remember the Titans* (in 2000), *Man on Fire* (2004), *Inside Man* (2006), *American Gangster* (from 2007), and The Equalizer trilogy (from 2014 to 2023). Washington both starred in and directed the films *Antwone Fisher* (in 2002), *The Great Debaters* (from 2007), and *Fences* (in 2016). In theater, Washington has appeared in productions of both Coriolanus (1979) and The Tragedy of Richard III (1990) at The Public Theater in New York. He made his Broadway debut in the Ron Milner play *Checkmates* (in 1988). He earned the Tony Award for Best Actor on Broadway for his role as a disillusioned working-class father in the Broadway revival of August Wilson's play *Fences* (from 2010). He has also acted in the Broadway revivals of the plays *Julius Caesar* (2005), *A Raisin in the Sun* (2014), and *The Iceman Cometh* (2018).